By Bruce Checefsky
Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) administers a cigarette tax to benefit artists and arts organizations in Cuyahoga County. It’s common knowledge that the revenue from this tax has been steadily declining for 15 years and that the current levy expires in January 2027. Senate Bill 164, signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, allows the county to ask voters to tax 9% of the wholesale price of cigarettes and expand the tax to nicotine vape products, which are not currently taxed by the county, for up to 10 years. No date was announced to place the levy on the ballot.
The CAC has been under fire for the bickering of their board members (Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Board Bickers While Artists Wonder Where They Fit In, read the CoolCleveland article here), and the lack of disclosure on funding for individual artists (Local Artists Left Out of $1,080,000 in Individual Grant Money From 2017-2022, read the CoolCleveland article here).
CoolCleveland attended the most recent board meeting of the CAC on WednesdayApril 19 at the Cleveland Public Library Louis Stokes Building.
Newly appointed board member Daniel Blakemore was at the meeting with reappointed board member Dr. Michele Scott Taylor, each set to serve a three-year term ending March 31, 2026, neither with a background in the arts. Dr. Scott Taylor is the Board Vice President at College Now Greater Cleveland, and Blakemore is the Philanthropy Director for the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The current five-person board has artists or creative entrepreneurs, raising doubts on their ability to manage a public arts organization and support artists.
An hour into the meeting, following CAC Director of Administration Meg Harris’ proposal for auditing committee members, CAC board member Charna Sherman made a motion to request accurate modeling and forecasting for future granting opportunities, given the deadline for a new tax levy. She said the CAC books and records are not in order and asked the audit committee to investigate artists’ funding.
“We have clear problems that have come to light in the artists’ funding fiasco, in problems with how we record, what we spend and budget, and whether we disclose what we budget,” said Sherman about artists missing out on unspent individual grants between 2017 and 2022.
“We need expert input,” she added. “Nothing is more important than fiscally being sure our procedures are accurate. The fact that we could not produce an immediate, accurate rendition of artists’ funding is problematic.”
Sherman provided evidence in printed documents, which she distributed to the board and made a motion to direct the audit committee to investigate the financial disclosures of historical budgets and actuals, provide a report and recommend changes. Nancy Mendez, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Board of Trustees President, accused Sherman of purposely confusing the issue.
Jill Paulsen, executive director of the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, had sent CAC board members an email complaining about an article by CoolCleveland on artist funding. In her email, Paulsen said it was “an irresponsible attempt to damage CAC” and CoolCleveland and its editorial staff “have twisted our information to fit their narrative.” Mendez signed the email with Paulsen and sent it to 40 “key stakeholders” and community partners.
In an article by The Plain Dealer a week later, featured on the front page of the Sunday edition, Mendez added a note of regret over the criticism of CoolCleveland, saying, “I don’t ever want to come off as accusing a journalist.”
The issue resurfaced at the CAC meeting on April 19, when Sherman asked Mendez why she signed the email without consulting the board. Sherman cited the CAC governing statute and by-laws, which state all power and authority granted to the CAC “shall be vested in and exercised by its board of trustees not any one member.”
Mendez said the majority of board members agreed with the letter. Sherman asked for specifics. “I did not speak personally with all board members,” said Mendez. “It was emailed to everyone. You did not agree with it, but the other board members did.”
When Sherman pressed for more details, Mendez said that she adhered to policy because she said so. “I am not going to have this conversation with you,” she said.
Cleveland Arts Prize winner and two-time Creative Workforce Fellowship Awardee Robin VanLear, who attended the meeting, said afterward that the CAC felt secretive and wished the board members got along better.
“They were talking about the $400,000 [for individual artists grants]. It has been the same for 15 years. There were years when they did not award it. I want to know when we get it back,” said VanLear, a board member at ARTFUL. “CAC has always been a rather secretive organization.”
Note: earlier reporting on this issue appears here:
Local Artists Left Out of $1,080,000 of Individual Grant Money from 2017-2022: https://coolcleveland.com/2BeEG
UPDATED: Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Board Bickers While Artists Wonder Where They Fit In: https://coolcleveland.com/wFaD6
And a related CoolCleveland COMMENTARY appears here: https://coolcleveland.com/uhsrn
2 Responses to “More Bickering About Artist Funding at Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Meeting”
Liz Maugans
Thank you coolcleveland for reporting this story on behalf of how this whole saga has effected artists. Artists are the soul of this city and I have nothing but confidence in them! Many creatives have reached out to me and appreciated this coverage and bringing these issues to light. The process and policies of the CAC have been unclear, confusing and kind of a secret society. There are approximately 17,500 artists in Cuyahoga County and coolcleveland has more trustworthy and consistent in there countless years of covering us and the arts and culture scene! Thank you thank you!
Katie Altadonna Morley
Thank you Cool Cleveland for writing this article. I am learning how important it is for all of us interested in the arts in Cleveland to learn more about the cigarette tax/Levy, the CAC and how they are funded. Clearly, it is time for a serious revamp of the CAC and to clean up the use/misuse of these smoking funds. I don’t like what I am reading and learning, yet I believe that there has to be way to demand change. Please keep writing more articles covering the arts, the CAC, and shining a light on the whole picture here. Thank you!